Expanded visa-free policies demonstrate China's confidence, openness

China and Singapore signed a mutual visa exemption agreement on Jan. 25, which will come into effect from Feb. 9. Chinese and Singaporean citizens holding ordinary passports will be allowed to enter and stay in each other's countries visa-free for up to 30 days.

The expanded visa-free access will facilitate the personnel exchanges and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between China and relevant countries. It showcases China's confidence and opening attitude.

Tourists enjoy beautiful views and watch seagulls at a seaside park in Rongcheng, east China's Shandong province, Jan. 15, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Wang Fudong)

So far, China has signed mutual visa exemption agreements with 157 countries, covering various types of passports. Simplified visa procedures agreements or arrangements have been reached with 44 countries. Mutual visa exemptions have been achieved with 22 countries, including Singapore, the Maldives, Kazakhstan, and others. In addition, over 60 countries and regions offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese citizens.

The convenience of Chinese citizens' outbound travel has been greatly improved, which lifts the "value" of Chinese passports. At the same time, China's continuous efforts to optimize its visa policies are providing more convenience for foreigners to travel, work, study, and live in China.

China is continuously optimizing its visa policies, showcasing its openness, inclusiveness, confidence, and strength to the world.

Starting from Dec. 1, 2023, China has implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia on a trial basis. Recently, China announced that it will apply unilateral visa-free policy to Switzerland and Ireland.

By last November, China has expanded the scope of its 72/144-hour transit visa-free policies to 54 countries.

Since Dec. 11, 2023, Chinese embassies and consulates have implemented a temporary measure to reduce visa fees. Starting from Jan. 11 this year, China's National Immigration Administration has officially implemented five measures to facilitate the entry of foreign nationals coming to China.

These measures have practically facilitated the exchange of personnel, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, demonstrating China's commitment to promoting people-to-people ties and advancing exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

China's continuous optimization of visa policies has received widespread acclaim from the international community and positive responses from relevant countries.

Technicians of the Zhangye branch of China Telecom debug a 5G base station on the peak of the Ba'ersi Snow Mountain in Sunan Yugur autonomous county, Zhangye, northwest China's Gansu province, Jan. 22, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Yang Xiao)

International personages praised China for introducing a series of convenient visa policies, saying China always brings surprises. They called China's optimization of visa policies good news and an important signal to promote tourism and economic exchanges.

Malaysia has decided to offer a 30-day visa-free entry to nationals from China. The French government has announced that holders of a master's degree from China with study experience in France can obtain a 5-year visa. Switzerland said it will provide more visa convenience for Chinese citizens and Chinese enterprises investing in Switzerland. Ireland has expressed its willingness to actively consider providing more convenience for Chinese citizens visiting Ireland, saying it welcomes more Chinese companies to invest and do business in Ireland.

The expanding visa reciprocity will effectively promote exchanges between China and relevant countries, further strengthening the mutually beneficial cooperation between them.

China's continuous optimization of visa policies and promotion of exchanges between Chinese and foreign individuals marks an important measure to serve the country's high-quality development and high-level opening-up, and it will also inject greater confidence and momentum into the common development of all countries.

China, after a 45-year journey of reform and opening-up, has gained a deeper understanding that the more open a country is, the more it develops and gains confidence, and the more it can contribute to the common development of all nations in the world.

China actively builds various open platforms to share development opportunities with other countries. It strives to optimize foreign investment and intellectual property protection, and accelerate the construction of a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment. China also collaborates with relevant parties to advance the Belt and Road Initiative, expanding cooperation with them in infrastructure, industry, trade, and technological innovation. Through concrete actions, China is opening its doors wider and wider to the world.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization believes that China is becoming increasingly open, and the vibrant development of China's tourism industry will also drive the common development of tourism in neighboring countries.

China will continuously expand its high-level opening-up, firmly pursue a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, steadily expand institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations, management and standards, and continuously expand the development space for Chinese modernization.

China will commit itself to openness to foster synergy for cooperation and deliver benefits to all, help different civilizations learn from each other, live in harmony and reinforce one another, and work with all relevant parties to build a community with a shared future for mankind.